Crazy fish

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Crazy fish
Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822).jpg
Crazy fish, Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822) by M. L. Nievera (colored).png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Butidae
Genus: Butis
Species:
B. butis
Binomial name
Butis butis
(F. Hamilton, 1822)
Synonyms
  • Butis prismaticus(F. Hamilton, 1822)
  • Butis leucurus(F. Hamilton, 1822)
  • Cheilodipterus butisF. Hamilton, 1822
  • Eleotris butis(F. Hamilton, 1822)
  • Eleotris longicaudaDe Vis, 1910
  • Eleotris papaDe Vis, 1910
  • Sparus chinensisOsbeck, 1765 ( Nomen oblitum )

Butis butis, the crazy fish, duckbill sleeper, or upside-down sleeper, is a species of sleeper goby that are native to brackish and freshwater coastal habitats of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean from the African coast to the islands of Fiji. They prefer well-vegetated waters and can frequently be found in mangrove swamps. They are small, drably-colored fish, reaching a maximum length of only 15 cm (5.9 in). [2] They are predatory and are known for their behavior of swimming vertically – or even upside down – while hunting.

Contents

Description

Crazy fish range in length from 69 to 155 mm (2.7 to 6.1 in) in length. [1] The head is subcylindrical and flattened dorsoventrally, and slightly concave in the area between the tip of the snout to just behind the eyes. The mouth is very large, with a lower jaw extending past the upper jaw. Both contain multiple rows of tiny, bristle-like, sharp teeth. A pair of nostrils is present on each side of the snout (four in all) midway between the tip of the snout and the eyes. The front pair of nostrils is far smaller in size than the posterior pair. The relatively small eyes (about a sixth of the length of the head in diameter) are situated near the top of the head, but are oriented sidewise. They are gold and black in coloration. The body is strongly compressed laterally. [3] [4] [5] [6]

The dorsal fins are situated approximately in the middle of the body. The first dorsal fin (with five to six rays) is arched and originates from the highest point of the back of the fish. It has thinner rays than the second dorsal fin (with seven to eight rays). The short triangular ventral fins (each with five rays) are located considerably farther forward than all the other fins. The anal fin (with seven to nine rays) is located approximately directly below the second dorsal fin, and are roughly the same size and shape as the latter. The pair of pectoral fins (each with eighteen to twenty rays) are large and rounded. They extend past the anus, sometimes reaching the anal fins. The broad and rounded caudal fin has about twenty closely compacted rays. [4] [5] [6]

The body is covered in scales except the mouth, chin, and the tip of the snout. Small accessory scales of varying sizes are also present at the base of the larger scales on the head and body, numbering at one to six for each larger scale. [5] [6] [7] The scales on the head, nape, and the sides of the body are ctenoid, while the scales on the belly are cycloid. [3]

Crazy fish are drably colored, with the body predominantly mottled dusky gray to olive green. Five or six irregular dark transverse bands are present, obscured somewhat in the front, but distinct in the rear half of the body. A black streak may extend from the snout, across the eye, and towards the gill covers. Dark spots radiate from around the eyes into the gill covers and snout. Each scale along the body has a pale spot that aligns with others, creating noticeable longitudinal rows. One or two red or pinkish spots are also present at the base of the pectoral fins. The fins can be colorless or possess rows of alternating black and light bars. In some individuals, the fins may exhibit broad, bright-red margins. The pectoral fins are invariably colorless. [3] [5] [6] [7]

Taxonomy and nomenclature

Crazy fish are classified under the genus Butis in the family Butidae, which was formerly considered a subfamily, Butinae, of the family Eleotridae (sleeper gobies). They belong to the order Gobiiformes, [8] which to some authorities is a suborder of the order Perciformes called Gobioidei. [9] [10]

The crazy fish was first described by the Scottish naturalist Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822 from a specimen recovered from the Ganges River near Calcutta, India. He originally classified it under the genus Cheilodipterus . [4] It was transferred to the genus Eleotris by the Danish naturalist Theodore Edward Cantor in 1850. [11] In 1856, the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker moved it to its own genus, Butis. [10] Hamilton did not explain the origin of the specific name. Hamilton is believed to have derived the name from the Indian word butis, decorative circular designs on sari fabric, probably referring to the coloration of crazy fish. [12]

Other common names of crazy fish include upside-down sleeper, crimson-tipped gudgeon, duckbill sleeper, crocodile fish, flat-headed gudgeon, pointed-head gudgeon, and bony-snouted gudgeon in English; [13] eendbek-slaper in Afrikaans; kuli (কুলি) in Bengali; kuonotorkkuja in Finnish; butis à épaulette noire in French; Spitzkopfgrundel in German; pasel in Ibanag; nyereh, ploso, puntang, belosoh, belontok, ubi, and ubi muncung itik in Indonesian and Malaysian; bloso-watu in Javanese; jǐ táng lǐ (嵴塘鳢) in Mandarin; vaneya in Sinhalese; bukletkhaeng (บู่เกล็ดแข็ง) in Thai; and cá bống cấu, cá bống đầu dẹp, and cá bong trân in Vietnamese. [1] [14]

Distribution and habitat

Distribution range Crazy fish (Butis butis) distribution range.png
Distribution range

Crazy fish inhabit brackish and freshwater habitats near the coast, but they can sometimes be found upriver. They are demersal fish, usually found near the muddy bottoms of lagoons, estuaries, and mangrove forests with abundant vegetation. [1] [15] [16]

Crazy fish has a wide distribution range: west from East Africa to as far east as Fiji, north from the South China Sea and south to Australia and New Caledonia, including islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. [1]

Countries where it is found include Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia); [17] Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia, China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, [18] and Macau); Fiji; [19] India (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands); [20] [21] Indonesia; [16] Japan; Kenya; [22] Madagascar; Malaysia; [23] Mauritius (including Rodrigues Island); Mozambique; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; [24] the Philippines; [5] Seychelles; Singapore; [10] Somalia; Sri Lanka; [25] Taiwan; Tanzania; Thailand; [26] and Vietnam. [1]

Ecology and behavior

Crazy fish are predatory, preying on crustaceans, small fishes, and worms. [1] [27] [28] They are territorial and are most active at twilight and at night. [29] [30]

They are known for their behavior of aligning their bodies against the nearest surface, appearing horizontal, vertical, and even upside down. [30] They use this positioning to ambush prey. [5] [31] [32] They also have the ability to change colors to a limited extent to blend in with their environments. [29] [32] During the monsoon seasons, the reddish margins of the fins can turn paler (to either orange or white), accompanied by the appearance of numerous reddish spots on the lower half of the body. The upper half of the caudal fin also turns white. [6]

Importance

Crazy fish are caught and sold for the aquarium trade. [29] [32] They are also edible and are sometimes fished for human consumption. [6] They are reasonably abundant and are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gobiidae</span> Family of fishes

Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm (3.9 in) in length, and the family includes some of the smallest vertebrates in the world, such as Trimmatom nanus and Pandaka pygmaea, Trimmatom nanus are under 1 cm long when fully grown, then Pandaka pygmaea standard length are 9 mm (0.35 in), maximum known standard length are 11 mm (0.43 in). Some large gobies can reach over 30 cm (0.98 ft) in length, but that is exceptional. Generally, they are benthic or bottom-dwellers. Although few are important as food fish for humans, they are of great significance as prey species for other commercially important fish such as cod, haddock, sea bass and flatfish. Several gobiids are also of interest as aquarium fish, such as the dartfish of the genus Ptereleotris. Phylogenetic relationships of gobiids have been studied using molecular data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleotridae</span> Family of fishes

Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of the Americas and near the Atlantic coast in Africa. While many eleotrids pass through a planktonic stage in the sea and some spend their entire lives in the sea; as adults, the majority live in freshwater streams and brackish water. One of its genera, Caecieleotris, is troglobitic. They are especially important as predators in the freshwater stream ecosystems on oceanic islands such as New Zealand and Hawaii that otherwise lack the predatory fish families typical of nearby continents, such as catfish. Anatomically, they are similar to the gobies (Gobiidae), though unlike the majority of gobies, they do not have a pelvic sucker.

This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand goby</span> Species of fish

The sand goby, also known as a polewig or pollybait, is a species of ray-finned fish native to marine and brackish European waters from the Baltic Sea through the Mediterranean Sea and into the Black Sea where it occurs in sandy or muddy areas of inshore waters at depths of from 4 to 200 metres. This species can reach a length of 11 centimetres (4.3 in) TL. This species is sometimes kept in public aquariums. The sand goby is of a sandy colour, with darker markings on the sides and a creamy-white underside. In the breeding season the male fish has blue spot at the rear of the first dorsal fin, ringed with white. The fish has a slender body, and the head is about a quarter of the total length.

Crocodilefish may refer to:

<i>Butis</i> Genus of fishes

Butis is a genus of fishes in the family Butidae found in fresh, brackish, and marine waters from the Indian Ocean coast of Africa through Southeast Asia to the Pacific islands and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gobiiformes</span> Order of fishes

The Gobiiformes are an order of fish that includes the gobies and their relatives. The order, which was previously considered a suborder of Perciformes, is made up of about 2,211 species that are divided between seven families. Phylogenetic relationships of the Gobiiformes have been elucidated using molecular data. Gobiiforms are primarily small species that live in marine water, but roughly 10% of these species inhabit fresh water. This order is composed chiefly of benthic or burrowing species; like many other benthic fishes, most gobiiforms do not have a gas bladder or any other means of controlling their buoyancy in water, so they must spend most of their time on or near the bottom. Gobiiformes means "goby-like".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loach goby</span> Species of fish

The loach goby, Rhyacichthys aspro, is a goby belonging to the family Rhyacichthyidae. It is not fished commercially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narkidae</span> Family of cartilaginous fishes

Members of the family Narkidae are commonly known as sleeper rays. They are restricted to the temperate and tropical Indo-West Pacific from South Africa to Japan to Indonesia, and are exclusively marine and are absent from freshwater habitats. They occur from the intertidal zone to the continental shelf and the upper continental slope to a depth of 350 meters, favoring soft-bottomed habitats.

<i>Acanthogobius</i> Genus of fishes

Acanthogobius is a genus of gobies native to marine, fresh and brackish waters of eastern Asia.

<i>Schismatogobius insignus</i> Species of fish

Schismatogobius insignus is a species of goby endemic to the Philippines. It is a small fish, growing to a maximum length of only 4.4 cm (1.7 in). It is found in coastal marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats.

Trypauchen vagina, commonly known as the burrowing goby, is a species of eel goby found in the Indo-Pacific region. It has an elongated body about 20 to 22 cm in length. It is reddish-pink in color and possesses distinctive pouches in the upper edges of its gill covers. It lives in burrows in the silty and muddy bottoms of its marine and brackish habitats. It has reduced eyes that are entirely covered with skin and the anterior portion of its head is protected by thick flesh. Both adaptations aid it in digging its burrows.

The flathead congoli is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Bovichtidae, the thornfishes or temperate icefishes. It is native to the seas off southeastern Australia. This species is the only known member of its genus.

<i>Valenciennea helsdingenii</i> Species of fish

Valenciennea helsdingenii is a species of goby from the Indo-Pacific. It is commonly known as the twostripe goby, black-lined sleeper goby, or railway sleeper goby. It can grow up to a length of 25 cm (9.8 in) and is distinguishable by two prominent orange to black lines running longitudinally through its body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frillfin goby</span> Species of fish

The frillfin goby is a species of marine fish in the genus Bathygobius.

The feathered river garfish, also known as the estuarine halfbeak, spoon-fin garfish, spoon-fin river garfish and viviparous half beak, is a species of marine, freshwater, brackish and reef-associated oceanodromous viviparous halfbeak found in Indo-Pacific regional countries, such as Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Madagascar, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Sri Lanka, India, Vanuatu, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Samoa.

Gnatholepis gymnocara, the Nakedcheek sandgoby, is a small species of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Gobionellinae. The Naked cheek sandgoby is found primarily in the Indian Ocean along the coast of Australia.

<i>Gobiomorphus coxii</i> Species of fish

Gobiomorphus coxii, or Cox's gudgeon, is a species of sleeper goby in the family Eleotridae which is native to the upland rivers of south eastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goby</span> Common name for many species of fish

Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments.

Aioliops brachypterus, commonly known as the shortfin minidartfish, is a species of dartfish endemic to the lagoons of Miniloc Island, El Nido, Philippines. It is a small fish measuring around 17 to 24 mm in length. It has a grayish to pink body with a bright yellow stripe on the side and a dark spot on the tail fin. They swim in schools of up to 50 individuals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Larson, H.; Sparks, J.S. (2017). "Butis butis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T3381A174777708. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T3381A174777708.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Butis butis" in FishBase . April 2013 version.
  3. 1 2 3 E.J. Brill (1953). The Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. E.J. Brill. pp. 306–307.
  4. 1 2 3 Francis Hamilton (1822). An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Constable. p.  57. Butis.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Albert W. Herre (1927). "Gobies of the Philippines and the China Sea". The Philippine Bureau of Science Monographic Publications on Fishes. Smithsonian Institution: 48–51.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Francis Day (1865). The Fishes of Malabar. Bernard Quaritch. pp.  114–115. Butis.
  7. 1 2 Kelvin K.P. Lim; Jeffrey K.Y. Low. "Flathead gudgeon". A Guide to Common Marine Fishes of Singapore. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ Nelson, JS; Grande, TC & Wilson, MVH (2016). "Classification of fishes from Fishes of the World 5th Edition" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Harald Ahnelt; Josef Göschl (2004). "The pattern of the lateral-line system on the caudal fin of Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877 (Teleostei: Odontobutidae), with comments on the arrangement of the lateral-line system on the caudal fin of Gobioidei" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 55 (16): 358–371.
  10. 1 2 3 Helen K. Larson; Zeehan Jaafar; Kelvin K.P. Lim (2008). "An annotated checklist of the gobioid fishes of Singapore" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 56 (1). National University of Singapore: 135–155. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  11. ↑ Theodore Edward Cantor (1850). "Catalogue of Malayan fishes". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 18 (2). J. Thomas, Baptist Mission Press: 983–1694.
  12. ↑ Anthony C. Gill; Douglas F. Hoese (2011). "On the formation of family-group names and gender of genera based on the stem—butis (Teleostei: Perciformes: Gobioidei)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2741. Magnolia Press: 66–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2741.1.4. ISSN   1175-5334.
  13. ↑ ARKive. "Duckbill sleeper (Butis butis)". Wildscreen. Archived from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Common names of Butis butis". FishBase. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ Pascualita Sa-a; Tobias Musschoot (November 15, 2011). "Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822)". FishBase. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  16. 1 2 Wawan Kiswara; A.S. Genis; A. Arifin; L.H. Purnomo (1991). "A preliminary study of the species composition, abundance, and distribution of fishes in the seagrass beds of Banten Bay, West Java, Indonesia". In A. Sasekumar (ed.). Mangrove Fisheries and Connections (PDF). ASEAN-Australia Marine Science Project. p. 188. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  17. ↑ J.B. Hutchins (2003). "Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia". In F.E. Wells; D.I. Walker; D.S. Jones (eds.). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia (PDF). Western Australian Museum. pp. 453–478.
  18. ↑ I-Hsun Ni; Kai-Yin Kwok (1999). "Marine Fish Fauna in Hong Kong Waters" (PDF). Zoological Studies. 38 (2): 130–152.
  19. ↑ Patrick Ryan (1981). "Records of Three New Freshwater Fish from the Fiji Islands" (PDF). Pacific Science. 35 (1): 93–95.
  20. ↑ Vijay Palavai; Priya Davidar (2009). "A survey of freshwater fishes of Andaman Islands" (PDF). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 106 (1): 11–14. ISSN   0974-7907. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  21. ↑ R. Rajaram; T. Nedumaran (2009). "Ichthyofaunal diversity in Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Bay of Bengal". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 1 (3): 166–169. doi: 10.11609/jott.o1985.166-9 . ISSN   0974-7907.
  22. ↑ Daniel O. Okeyo (1998). "Updating names, distribution and ecology of riverine fish of Kenya in the Athi-Galana-Sabaki River drainage system" (PDF). Naga, the ICLARM Quarterly (January–March): 44–53.
  23. ↑ C.N. Maxwell (1921). Malayan Fishes. Methodist Publishing House. p.  98.
  24. ↑ Tyson R. Roberts (1978). "An ichthyological survey of Fly River in Papua New Guinea with descriptions of new species" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (281). Smithsonian Institution Press: 65.
  25. ↑ Wildlife Conservation society – Galle (2009). The Study of the Faunal Diversity In Matara District – Southern, Sri Lanka (PDF). Biodiversity, Education & Research Centre, Hiyare Reservoir. p. 19.
  26. ↑ Tuantong Jutagate; Amonsak Sawusdee; Thanitha Thapanand Chaidee; Sutheera Thongkhoa; Piyapong Chotipuntu (2009). "Fish in the Pak Panang Bay and River in relation to the anti-salt dam operation, part I: assemblage patterns of the marine and brackish water fish" (PDF). Kasetsart Journal: Natural Science. 43. Kasetsart University: 120–131.
  27. ↑ Ronald Baker; Marcus Sheaves (2005). "Redefining the piscivore assemblage of shallow estuarine nursery habitats". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 291. Inter-Research: 197–213. doi: 10.3354/meps291197 .
  28. ↑ Marcus Sheaves (2001). "Are there really few piscivorous fishes in shallow estuarine habitats?" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 222. Inter-Research: 279–290. doi: 10.3354/meps222279 .
  29. 1 2 3 "Butis butis – Crazy Fish". Seriously Fish. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  30. 1 2 Rüdiger Riehl; Hans A. Baensch (1993). Aquarium Atlas. Vol. 2. Rockport Publishers. p. 1063. ISBN   978-1-56465-114-3.
  31. ↑ Adam Lundie. "Butis butis". FishProfiles.com. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  32. 1 2 3 Aqualand Fact Sheets. "How to Care for Your New Crazy Fish". Aqualand Pets Plus. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
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